As AI reshapes global business, India is APAC’s defining growth story

I find myself reflecting on what the past century has meant for the Asia-Pacific region, and on the defining opportunities that lie ahead. APAC has undergone a historic transformation. A region once defined by large populations and modest incomes has become a major engine of global growth, contributing about two-thirds of global GDP growth in recent decades. The region has also steadily narrowed the per-capita income gap with the world average, and I believe it has the potential to exceed the global average by 2050, if it sustains growth and productivity improvements.

Looking towards the next century, APAC has the potential to become the most influential economic region in the world. Realising this potential will require more than economic scale. It will require long-term, predictable policy frameworks in strategic sectors such as energy, semiconductors, artificial intelligence, and robotics. It will require political and institutional stability, alongside sustained investment in urban infrastructure, digital connectivity, and AI ecosystems. Just as important, APAC nations will need to move beyond pure competition and embrace deeper strategic collaboration. The countries that balance national competitiveness with regional cooperation will define the next era of global growth.

At the same time, APAC’s demographic structure is entering a major transition. APAC is home to roughly 60% of the world’s population, and demographic ageing, particularly in China, Japan, and South Korea, will increasingly shape regional growth dynamics over the coming decades. In this context, India and ASEAN are positioned to become the next major engines of the global economy. Their success will depend not only on labour force expansion, but on how effectively they apply technology to drive productivity and create new value.

This is where AI and robotics will reshape how companies compete. The future will not be defined simply by automating existing processes. The real opportunity lies in redesigning business models and operating structures around AI from the ground up. Across industries, leading companies are already rethinking how decisions get made, how supply chains operate, how customer experiences are delivered, and how innovation itself is accelerated. The nations and companies that combine AI-driven productivity with high-value industries and jobs that enhance human capability will define the next generation of global leaders.

India is where I find myself most optimistic. It stands at the centre of APAC’s next growth chapter, supported by demographic strength, entrepreneurial energy, digital infrastructure, and a globally competitive talent base. What is especially encouraging is the ambition we see among Indian companies, including the leaders I have engaged with directly. These companies are not approaching AI as a tool for incremental efficiency. They are articulating bold visions to become leading enterprises in the AI era through strategic investment, organisational transformation, and the redesign of business processes themselves.

Many Indian business leaders are moving beyond conventional transformation approaches that assume legacy operating models will remain intact. They are redesigning workflows, decision-making structures, and value chains on the assumption that AI will be deeply embedded across operations. Their ambition is not limited to winning at home. They aim to compete at world-class levels of efficiency, speed, and value creation on a global scale.

This mindset matters because the AI era will reward boldness, adaptability, and speed of execution more than legacy scale. Companies willing to rethink established assumptions and invest ahead of the curve will be better positioned to shape entire industries. India’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, which combines technological sophistication with sharp execution, gives the country a distinctive advantage in this new environment.

I have high expectations for India’s founders and corporate executives, whose entrepreneurial spirit and long-term ambition are positioning India as a global centre of innovation. Their willingness to take strategic risks, invest ahead of the curve, and build globally competitive institutions will have implications far beyond India itself. In many ways, the future trajectory of APAC, and perhaps of the global economy, will be shaped by the decisions these leaders make over the coming decade.

India’s Digital Public Infrastructure, including Aadhaar and UPI, has demonstrated how nationally coordinated digital foundations can support inclusion and create a platform for private-sector innovation. The same logic applied to AI could be transformative. This is the moment for governments and business leaders across the region to deepen strategic dialogue and build trust-based investment frameworks with a long-term horizon.

(The author is Region Chair, Asia Pacific and Chairman, Kearney Japan. Views are personal.)